Spot on Liz. Amazing what the recruitment of one player can do.
Spot on Liz. Amazing what the recruitment of one player can do.
I think "better depth" refers purely to the number of mids on the list; we don't go as deep in mids as Freo, but the listed ones we have are better quality.Originally Posted by liz
I think you're right about the comparison with the Cats.
And tomorrow night looks interesting: the best midfield in the comp against the worst! Ignoring possible absentees of course.
He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
And it's curious how the worst midfield in the comp has three number one draft picks. Which is probably a reflection on both that table and the importance of number one draft picks.
I don't know Liz. danger is pretty good as is Guthry, Duncan, Selwood, Blitsavs, Murdoch, Gregson and Motlop is a pretty handy midfield. the thing is most of those players can hit a player up on a lead. they can dispose with efficiency. Most of our mids seem incapable of doing the same. I'd hazard a guess and say itr is the coaching regime nt the lack of ability.
Sorry Plugger but their mids absolutely destroyed ours at Kardinia Park last year. Guthrie was super. Bliclavs was wonderful. We were slaughtered and they didn't have Danger then.
hawks mids - why not no 1 ?
"be tough, only when it gets tough"
They outplayed the Swans in the second half only, after the Swans had a couple of goals lead at half-time but then seemed to think the game was over. It was possibly the most disappointing performance by the Swans for the year. But they lost by slightly less than they beat the Cats by in the first meeting of last season, where Parker was super and the likes of Mitchell, McVeigh and Kennedy weren't too shoddy either.
There's no denying that Selwood and Danger are quality players but both finished below both Kennedy and Hanners in the AFLCA awards and Brownlow count last year. Those two aren't half bad either. Motlop is a small forward who occasionally rotates through the midfield. He's yet to show he's a proper midfielder. Duncan's a good player but so are Jack, Parker and Mitchell. I'd take any of those over Gregson who's only entering his second season (and is still just a part time mid) or Guthrie, or Murdoch (or Caddy, who you didn't mention). Indeed, Gregson's not much more of a midfielder yet than Heeney is. I know I'd take Heeney first.
I don't deny Geelong has a pretty decent midfield. We don't have anyone to compare to Biclavs (though they don't have anyone with the attributes of Tippett either). Sydney's list has holes - everything beyond the first 15 or so players, for instance. But I rate our top half dozen or so mids, especially the ball winning mids, as a stronger and more proven bunch.
That's one game of footy. Ours beat theirs a couple of months earlier.
It's not about a head-to-head battle anyway. Any side's midfield can get their pants pulled down on a given day or night.
Our midfield has led us to four consecutive top 4 finishes. They're a pretty good bunch. The Geelong group may well go beyond the Swans' group in 2016 but for the time being, we've got the runs on the board.
I think Geelong more generally will not live up to the super hyped-up expectations we've been hearing from all and sundry this year. They have a good midfield on paper, but I still don't buy they'll be anything more than a 5-12 team, a group which will contain a lot of even teams within it. Plenty are talking them up as genuine premiership challengers, but I don't see it - even with Dangerfield in there (who despite being a mighty fine footballer, I really do think is over-rated somewhat).
"You get the feeling that like Monty Python's Black Knight, the Swans would regard amputation as merely a flesh wound."
I think Geelong will be the team to beat this year if they have Biclavs, Bliclavs and Blitsavs all lining up alongside Blicavs.
I think also that it should be remembered this was Goodesy's 'comeback' game after he took himself out of the game for the previous match against Adelaide. Much energy went into making his return to the game as accommodating as it could have been, which is just how it should have happened. It no doubt would have been an emotional week for the team (emotional couple of weeks) and it wouldn't surprise me that these external issues had an emotional toll that consequently affected their performance at Kardinia Park, and possibly compounded by Geelong wanting to get it right for their spiritual leader Joel Selwood who was playing his 200th. Probably not the ideal game in which to assess the team's performance.
It's very hard to live in a studio apartment in San Jose with a man who's learning to play violin. That's what she told the police when she handed them the empty revolver.
The Scarlatti Tilt - Richard Brautigan
Our mids are wonderful at getting the ball but are wasteful. When we don't have one mid in the top 100 efficient disposers then we need to look at ehat they are doing with it. In fact the first of our mids on the disposal efficiency is over 300. That's pretty crap. yes they get heaps of the ball and if it weren't for our forwards and their wonderful pressure and the backs moving up to cut off the fast rebound the mids would have a lot of egg on their faces. Far too wasteful. don't know if it's game plan or just low skills level but we need to be far more efficient to beat Hawks in a grand final. I think you will also find this year sides will start to exploit out inefficiencies much more.
We have to be better. It's not that these players can't do it, they did in 2012 and Mitchell did for the most part in his matches last year although he is not a naturally gifted pass or position kick. Heens has wonderful skills. Hewett if he plays tonight might just get to show off his skills. So far I have not seen great skills because the game plan simply doesn't allow for great skill. Bombing the ball constantly to the forward line is not skilful it is insanity.
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